― Italo Calvino, Six Memos For The Next Millennium
Mark Blickley and Dario Saraceno’s collaborative Ekphrasis prose poem: Emotional Withdrawal
That idiotic doctor smiling down at me as if I am a Christmas leg of lamb ready to carve into my chest searching for a purse of gold and municipal bonds safely guarded by Margaret’s father cruel old bastard God forgive me bribing me to marry his obnoxious daughter crying in the corridor afraid I…
Issy Jinarmo’s collaborative story: The Show Of A Lifetime
Never in his wildest dreams had Terry ever thought he would be part of something so incredible. The phone call from his boss Colin, late the previous evening set the stage, so to speak, for the next few months of his life, and perhaps his future, he thought. The next day he was on his…
Issy Jinarmo’s collaborative short story: Our Grandad
Grandad was your typical old man, a loving husband, father and grandfather who was always the clown, making us grandchildren laugh, pretending to pinch and hide our noses, playing with us, coming down to our level with games that we invented. He prided himself as no male chauvinist, as are ‘typical of his generation’ he…
Issy Jinarmo’s collaborative story: Margaret Connects The Dots
Bessie Mitchell, secretary of Horner Springs Amateur Theatre group smiled as she left the local newspaper office. She had just placed an advertisement seeking actors to audition for the group’s new production. Bessie loved being part of the group and hoped other residents would be as enthusiastic as she was about raising money to help…
Mark Blickley and Katya Shubova’s collaborative Ekphrasis Fiction: Beast of Burden Unloads
I’m a donkey who hates being called an ass. It’s an attack on my species. Should we all apologize for not being born magnificent horses? There are 40 million four-legged asses in the world. The number of two-legged asses roaming the earth is unfathomable. You’ve no doubt heard the term jackass, right? Do you know…
Shloke Chattopadhyay and Koushik Saha’s collaborative piece: Don’t Trust the Cat
It is with a mind both fractured and resolute that I set myself to recount these events, though I cannot claim my words will render them comprehensible. If anything, they are an attempt to rid myself of the thoughts that now fester in my waking hours and claw at the fragile shreds of sleep. The…
Oindri Ghosh-Roy and Koushik Saha’s collaborative piece: The Sloth and her Socks
There was a sloth named Kania. She lived in the deep dark woods with her mother, her father, and her little sister. And she liked to swim and climb trees. But she was v-e-r-y s-l-o-w! The next day she wore her socks for climbing skills. She was very slow but she reached the top of…
Sayari Ghosh and Carleigh Beverly’s collaborative piece: Lobby the Anti-Hero
I think I would have liked you better…. I think I would have like you better if I met the you before I think I would have liked the person without the chiselled features, longing for the cut the stone defined refine to cover the sores. I think I would have liked you better when…
Issy Jinarmo’s collaborative short story: Every Dog Has Its Day
The Rev Garth Williams gazed out of his vicarage window, across the lawn to the church beyond. The parish of St Paul’s, situated in a rural area of NSW had been under his care for nearly eight years. His parishioners were not overly wealthy, but they were hard working and devoted to Garth, his wife…
Issy Jinarmo’s collaborative short story: The Calm
It was hot and hazy and so quiet it was almost eerie. Tree branches were still and the birds quiet, only the occasional ‘baa’ of a baby lamb could be heard. This time it wasn’t the calm before the storm, not as Les knew it. This time he had found peace, even if it ‘rained…
Biyas Dutta and Koushik Saha’s collaborative piece: The last tune
Editor’s Note: This piece of collaborative art-work emerged from the recent incident that made the Tramways stop forever in Kolkata. The residents especially the old generation has almost romanticised the existence and running of the Tram in that city. Kolkata was one with her Tramways and now she is not going to be home to…
Brian Aldrich and Peter Cordwell (Mercury Man)’s collaborative piece: The man who lives in the park
This one’s even more unusual than usual, about the man who lives in the park, and I know you won’t mind me having to leave out some, well…facts. All I can tell you, for good reasons, is that homeless Kevin’s home – he calls it Kevin’s Cabin – comes within the circulation areas of Greenwich,…
Issy Jinarmo’s collaborative short story: A Fortune Won and Lost
Annabelle Archer looked fondly at the photo of her grandparents on the table in the lounge room of her family home. It was a sad day, her dear grandfather Raymond’s funeral and wake. ‘How I will miss you,’ thought Annabelle. ‘You were always such a clown when Jodie and I were growing up.’ Her grandfather’s…
Issy Jinarmo’s short story: The Artist in Residence (a collaborative piece)
Note: Issy Jinarmo is the pen name for Jill Baggett, Narelle Noppert and Maureen Kelly OAM Angela looked around the small lounge room and gave a sigh of contentment. Living in a busy city all her life she’d promised herself a self-indulgent retirement lifestyle. She’d moved to the south coast and into a small holiday…
Shikha S Lamba and Koushik Saha’s collaborative piece: A Sunny Side Up Bedspread of Summer Love
Editor’s Note: A poem can inspire minds in the strangest possible ways. This poem might not find its exact visual representation in the image, but the artist found some words and images from the poem that led him to create this art-piece. It must be mentioned here that the image and poem do not share…
Ishani De and Anindya Sundar Paul’s collaborative piece
Editor’s Note: This piece is a collaborative in true sense of the term. The translator of the original poem (English) wanted the poet’s views to find strength in another language and hence he collaborated with her. Although DoubleSpeak never has published any translation to any other language than English, it made an exception this time…
Ishana Roy and Debarghya Dey’s collaborative piece: Nature’s Balance
Editor’s Note: It is exciting to see how an artist can read into the words of a child and create something that can add value to that child’s imagination. This collaboration is an attempt to explore that possibility. Once upon a time in the sky with all its might, Shone the grand Sun all over,…
Oindri Ghosh-Roy and Koushik Saha’s collaborative piece: Dino Story
Editor’s Note: This collaboration is an attempt to encourage the imaginative mind of a child and give her hope that someone somewhere can bring form to those wildly beautiful ideas she carries in her head. Once upon a time, there were two little dinosaurs who hatched from their eggs. When the Sun came up, the…
Maed Rill Monte and Saranya Ganguly‘s collaborative piece: Picture in Gregore Samsa’s Room
Picture in Gregor Samsa's Room From the day when he cut it out of a magazine, when he saw it gazing into his soul with furry eyes, planting the sense of beauty and charm mixed into a homogeneous feeling of possessiveness— since the day he hung the picture on a side of his room where…
Maed Rill Monte and Saranya Ganguly‘s collaborative piece: young man contemplating solitude
young man contemplating solitude he strikes upon a fresh idea, as if with a shovel on deep mud: he is trying to find a gold nugget among stones and other invaluable things of the earth. he sits on a thought, like steam on a warm cup of coffee, his body imitates the form of smoke:…
Ayesha Salahuddin and Anindya Sundar Paul’s collaborative essay: Tere Bin (Without you)
Authors’ note: Even during Amrit Mahotsav of India’s independence, there are citizens who keep struggling for their freedom on a daily basis. But it’s not always the way generally perceived. This is an unusual review where the co-writers deliberately write subjectively referring to themselves in third person. The very identity of this write-up is subject to…
Issy Jinarmo‘s short story: Birdie, Nat and Mr. Cat
Note: Issy Jinarmo is the pen name for Jill Baggett, Narelle Noppert and Maureen Kelly OAM Birdie had a picturesque view over the sprawling Sydney suburbs from the desk in her brick city unit. Mr Cat awkwardly climbed on her lap as the amber morning sun poured in the window. “What should I do, Cat?”…
Koushik Saha and Argha De‘s collaborative work: Afterlife
What have we done? Our cities struggle with our burden as they cough and heave, Our waters, like an oily film covering smell of our sin and taint. All this knowledge, and for what? To drown in more plastic? What right do we have to treat the Creator's gift like this? This world was left…
Koushik Saha and Argha De‘s collaborative work: Through the hourglass
As the smoke from the chimneys Envelopes and relieves the earth of our worthless selves, each and every leaf holds on to the green of the chlorophyll in a last act of resistance. With each heave as we leave the remembrance of our existence behind, Perhaps our ghosts will look on to the vast emptiness…
Shamashish Sengupta and Paromita Goswami‘s collaborative work: Do we stand out?
Do we stand out, we in all our yellow-ness? Different from whites and greens? Or do you see that we wouldn't be What we are without…
Issy Jinarmo‘s short story: The Long Flight Home
Editor’s note: This is another instance of publishing a short story written by three people who has come to find a single identity through their words. The three authors didn’t know each other before they came together in a writers conference and the trying times of the pandemic made them see they can be one…
Hargun Gujral and Koushik Saha‘s collaborative piece: Loss
Editor’s Note: Hargun had a few lines, coming out as stream of consciousness, for the idea of loss. She needed some anchor to just take them out. Koushik who is an artist used his brush to provide that anchor. Thus came into life this collaborative piece taking us through how one can navigate loss. Loss…
Pritha Banerjee Chattopadhyay and Shamin Kulkarni‘s collaborative work: Awkward Silence and Collecting Dues
Shamin Kulkarni wanted a few lines that would help him take random images, a mark of his collecting dues from his being on a solo journey and his artistic self. DoubleSpeak reached out to Pritha Banerjee Chattopadhyay for some words that can inspire Shamin, even in the most obscure manner. The result is this photostory.…
Writer’s trio Issy Jinarmo‘s collaborative short story: A Little White Lie
Editor’s note: This is a first for DoubleSpeak to publish a short story written by three people who has come to find a single identity through their words. The three authors didn’t know each other before they came together in a writers conference and the trying times of the pandemic made them see they can…
Douglas Colston and Koushik Saha‘s Collaborative piece
The writing part was done by Douglas Colston who was inspired by the old scriptures from Chinese, Old Norse and Latin civilisations. His text is somewhat an artistic blend of translation and interpretations. He calls his text as Organising and arranging – including spinning and weaving fabric or composing poetry – may be associated with…
Koushik Saha and Zai Gulmohar‘s collaborative piece: Raining Words
Editor’s Note: This collaboration has spontaneity written all over it. The image came from Koushik with a hope to find some words and DoubleSpeak reached out to Zai who readily accepted to compliment the image with a quick poem. The collaborators do not know each other but their works find a organic connection in this…
DS Maolalai and Gui Moraes‘s collaborative piece: Hum
Editor’s Note: The poem was submitted by Maolalai for consideration in the poem section and yet the need for the sharp edged images were felt to add more layers to the words. Maolalai’s friend Gui came forward to share his work and compliment the words. the city has a hum like air conditioning in next…
Gemini Lovers‘ collaborative piece: A Hard Life
This is collaboration of what the two writers are seeing in the socio-economic scenario of their our country. Deeply affected by what they see around them, they decided to share their observations with a larger audience others. They have a simple logic for such a collaboration – they love writing and they are both poets…
Linda Crate and Kaushik Saha‘s Collaborative piece: With Nature’s Touch
Poet Linda Crate wrote a poem about nature. The poem could have been existing in its own strength and grace. But transparent water colours from Kaushik Saha promised to add another layer of meaning and interpretation. Linda is from Pennsylvania, USA and Kaushik is from Panagarh, India and yet their expressions found a confluence through…
Pritha Chattopadhyay, Souva Chattopadhyay and Arupratan Ghosh‘s Collaborative piece of poem and images.
Note from the editor: The need for such a collaboration arises, perhaps, from a tangible yet abstract connection between words and images. The poet finds images from the photographers and uses them as almost a punctuation for her poems. One can also imagine the words of the poems to be the unwritten lines in the…
Jibendu Narayan Mazumder and Kaushik Saha‘s collaborative piece: The Hector of our times
The enemy is at your gate, laying a gruelling month-long siege, Savagest of kinsmen, they are coming in numbers from the sea; Armed with firearms they have thronged the busiest streets, Hacking off heads of your men, detaining women who were once free. When the overpowering gloom engulfs everything around, When all of the flickering…
Amy Bassin and Mark Blickley‘s collaborative piece: Recyclable Glass
My latest ekphrasis collaboration with fine arts photographer Amy Bassin, “Recyclable Glass,” was created a bit differently than our previous ones Usually, Amy shows me an image and if it speaks to me, I write a text-based on it. I wrote “Recyclable Class” in response to an ugly incident I recently witnessed on a New…
Joy Banerjee and Riturupa Datta’s collaborative project: Dear time…
Editor’s note: Joy felt the need to speak to time, as if it has been a dear friend to him since long. Words did come out in the form of a letter and yet it found a complementary gift in Riturupa’s illustration. Thus a collaboration happened to add some flesh and blood to an abstract…
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